Google reveals US government leads way in private data requests

Private information on Google users was demanded by governments or police more than 14,000 times in 26 developed countries in the second half of last year, according to figures released for the first time by the internet group yesterday.In an effort to highlight online censorship, Google disclosed that it had received more requests from the United States than anywhere else, and that it complied with anywhere from three-quarters to more than 90% of the requests, depending on which country they were made in.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/27/google-data-protectionAlso see:Google Gives User Data To U.S. Government In Almost All Cases
Google disclosed on Monday that law enforcement agencies in the United States requested user data from the company more than 8,000 times last year.As part of its Transparency Report feature, which also tracks requests to remove information, Google noted that it had processed 8,888 government requests in the United States. Of the 4,601 processed in the last six months of 2010, the company fully or partially complied with 94 percent of the requests.
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2011/06/google-gives-user-data-to-us-g.phpUpdated and more detailed Transparency Report
Our Transparency Report discloses the information that governments have asked for over the past six months. For our latest batch of data, covering July through December 2010, we wanted to improve the way we give you the information, so we’ve updated the look of the report and added more details.We’ve highlighted some significant changes in the data and provided context about why those changes may have occurred during this reporting period. We’ve also made it easier for you to spot trends in the data yourself. For example, we’ve changed the format so you can now see data on a country-by-country basis. We’re also clearly disclosing the reasons why we’ve been asked to remove content — such as an allegation of defamation or hate speech.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/updated-and-more-detailed-transparency.html